Nomination Bouwprijs 2011

Octatube has been nominated for the Dutch 'Bouwprijs' 2011 in the category building materials & -systems with the project Hogeschool INHolland in Delft.

Description of entry:
The University of INHolland in Delft has a very innovative glass atrium facade, with tensioned cables resisting wind loads and carrying the glass. Octatube has been involved in the development of the idea and has subsequently realised the entry facades. Special about the facade is the visually eliminating the main structure. The glass facade is flat on both sides, because the pre-tensionsed aramide cables run through composite tubes in the cavity of the isolated glass units. The distance holder in between the glass panels has also been made of composite. The double glass units have a thickness of 54 milimeters, resulting in the thinnest glass/composite facade in the world. One of the three facades of the entry has actually been carried out this way and is been used by INHolland in their educational and research programs.

Jury report:
The jury finds the composite facade of the University of INHolland a very interesting initiative. The facade give a beautiful appearance to the building and makes it stand out. For this project there has been though of the facade in an intelligent way. The idea is innovative, integrated and also realised in a neat way. The jury thinks it is a hit. Especially the creativity and the ingenuity play a major part in this. An additional advantage is the easy to clean the windows, according to the jury.

Partners: Hogeschool INHolland Vastgoed, Rietveld Architects New York, INHolland Composietenlab, AGC Westland, Phillystran Europe, Prince Fibre Tech